National Catholic Reporter: Content by Nicole Nerouliashttps://www.ncronline.org/rss.xml/35563
enAmerican politics more religious than American votershttps://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/american-politics-more-religious-american-voters
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Has America gotten more religious, or just American politics? </p><p>The country has grown less religious since the 1970s, while frequent churchgoers are now much more likely to vote Republican or support the Tea Party, according to recent studies.</p><p>As a result, faith-filled rhetoric and campaign stops make Americans appear more Christian than they really are, according Mark Chaves, a Duke University professor of sociology and religion. </p><p>The rise of megachurches, with their memberships in the thousands, also fuels the misperception that most Americans attend services weekly, when only one in four Americans actually do, he added.</p> </section>
Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:10:57 +0000Dennis Coday26316 at https://www.ncronline.orgPoll: Americans see clash between Christianity, capitalismhttps://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/poll-americans-see-clash-between-christianity-capitalism
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Are Christianity and capitalism a marriage made in heaven, as some conservatives believe, or more of a strained relationship in need of some serious couple’s counseling?</p> </section>
Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:44:09 +0000Anonymous24226 at https://www.ncronline.orgJews troubled by Palinís use of 'blood libel'https://www.ncronline.org/news/jews-troubled-palin-s-use-blood-libel
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Four days after an assassination attempt critically wounded a Jewish congresswoman and killed six others, Sarah Palin on Wednesday accused “journalists and pundits” of manufacturing a “blood libel” that seeks to link her and other conservatives to the massacre.</p><p>The “blood libel” language unsettled many Jewish groups, who say the term has been used for centuries to justify persecution of Jews.</p><p>“Blood libel” is often traced to the Gospel of Matthew, where Jews calling for Jesus’ death say, “Let his blood be upon us and upon our children.” Later, it took on the notion that Jews used the blood of non-Jews, particularly Christian children, in their rituals.</p><p>Palin’s eight-minute video statement expresses sympathy for the victims and their families, but objects to “the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.”</p><p>Palin has been widely criticized for including the district of Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, who remains in critical condition, on a map of congressional districts marked by gun crosshairs. Last March, Giffords herself warned that such imagery has “consequences.”</p> </section>
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:41:51 +0000Anonymous22287 at https://www.ncronline.orgAmericans say religious messages fuel negative views of gayshttps://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/americans-say-religious-messages-fuel-negative-views-gays
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Most Americans believe messages about homosexuality coming from religious institutions contribute to negative views of gays and lesbians, and higher rates of suicide among gay youths, a new poll reports.</p><p>While split on whether same-sex relations are sinful, Americans are more than twice as likely to give houses of worship low marks on handling the issue of homosexuality, according to a PRRI/RNS Religion News Poll released Oct. 21.</p><p>A plurality (45 percent) of Americans, however, give their own house of worship a `A’ or `B’ grade on how it handles homosexuality.</p><p>After a recent spate of teen suicides prompted by anti-gay harassment and bullying, the poll indicates a strong concern among Americans about how religious messages are impacting public discussions of homosexuality.</p><p>Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 percent) say religious messages about homosexuality contribute to “negative views” of gays and lesbians, and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) see a connection to higher rates of suicide among gay youths.</p> </section>
Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:30:29 +0000Anonymous20890 at https://www.ncronline.orgCatholics, Orthodox agree: Pope is sticking pointhttps://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/catholics-orthodox-agree-pope-sticking-point
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Visit a Roman Catholic and an Eastern Orthodox liturgy, and the differences are stark: Catholic statues vs. Orthodox icons, celibate vs. married priests, communion wafers vs. hunks of bread.</p><p>Pay closer attention, and other distinctions become apparent, including how each side makes the sign of the cross, when they celebrate Easter and how they refer to the Holy Spirit.</p><p>In the nearly 1,000 years since Christianity split into East and West, the two sides have grown farther and farther apart. Yet basic compromises -- or simply agreeing to disagree -- could resolve most issues, according to representatives from both sides who recently met at Georgetown University.</p><p>The trouble, it turns out, is the pope.</p><p>After a recent meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, two dozen participants from both sides issued a statement aimed at guiding the churches back to their shared roots. Members could imagine a reunited church with a new calendar and old prayers, but “the central problem is the role of the pope,” said Paulist Fr. Ronald G. Roberson, associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ ecumenical office.</p> </section>
Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:01:10 +0000Anonymous20849 at https://www.ncronline.orgPoll: Majority opposes mosque near Ground Zerohttps://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/poll-majority-opposes-mosque-near-ground-zero
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>The outcry over the proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero should not be lumped together with protests against planned mosques in other parts of the country, a new poll suggests.</p><p>Nearly 60 percent of Americans oppose building an Islamic center or mosque two blocks from the site of the 9/11 terror attacks, but 76 percent would support one in their own communities, according to a PRRI/RNS Religion News Poll released Aug. 26.</p><p>The strongest opposition to the New York project, called Park51, came from Republicans (85 percent) and white evangelicals (75 percent opposed the New York project, and 24 percent don't support mosques in their own communities), according to the poll conducted by Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service.</p><p>The numbers suggest that the negative reaction to what's been dubbed the "Ground Zero mosque" stems more from its proximity a site that's considered "sacred ground" by a majority of Americans rather than the general Islamophobia exhibited in the nationwide protests, researchers said.</p> </section>
Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:08:53 +0000Dennis Coday19965 at https://www.ncronline.orgSupporters decry 'horrifying' 27-year sentence for slaughterhouse chiefhttps://www.ncronline.org/news/supporters-decry-horrifying-27-year-sentence-slaughterhouse-chief
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Orthodox Jewish leaders say the 27-year prison sentence announced Monday (June 21) against former kosher slaughterhouse chief Sholom Rubashkin far outweighs his white-collar crime.<br /><br />Rubashkin, 51, was convicted last November on 86 counts of fraud stemming from a $26.8 million loss to lenders after an immigration raid found nearly 400 undocumented workers at his Agriprocessors slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa.<br /><br />Prosecutors opted not to pursue the immigration charges after the decisive fraud conviction; a state trial recently acquitted him of knowingly employing underage workers.<br /><br />Defense attorneys had asked for a six-year prison term, citing Rubashkin's 10 children, faith-based philanthropy and other contributing factors for leniency. Prosecutors also scaled back their original request for life imprisonment to 25 years. U.S. District Judge Linda Reade of Cedar Rapids has also ordered Rubashkin to pay back his lenders.<br /><br />In a statement released after the sentence announcement, Agudath Israel, an ultra-Orthodox organization, called it “a dark day” for both American justice and American Jewry.<br /></p> </section>
Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:36:45 +0000Anonymous18962 at https://www.ncronline.orgReform rabbis support women at the Wallhttps://www.ncronline.org/news/global-sisters-report/reform-rabbis-support-women-wall
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Reform rabbis have resolved to protest attacks on religious freedom in 2010 by supporting women who seek to worship equally with men in Jerusalem and Muslims who want to build minarets in Switzerland.</p><p>The Central Conference of American Rabbis, representing about 1,800 Reform Jewish clergy in North America, issued a statement Dec. 30 against the treatment of Israeli feminist Nofrat Frankel, who was arrested in November after violating a law against women wearing traditional male prayer shawls and reading the Torah at the Western Wall.</p> </section>
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</div> Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:55:55 +0000Dennis Coday16477 at https://www.ncronline.orgJews launch new appeal for Iowa meat planthttps://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/jews-launch-new-appeal-iowa-meat-plant
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>Rebuffed after seeking a meeting with the new owners of an Iowa kosher meat plant that was devastated by an immigration raid last year, a social justice group is using the upcoming Jewish New Year to send a message from the marketplace.</p> </section>
Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:53:11 +0000Dennis Coday14836 at https://www.ncronline.orgOrthodox Jews struggle with sexual abusehttps://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/orthodox-jews-struggle-sexual-abuse
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by Nicole Neroulias by Religion News Service </div>
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<p>NEW YORK -- In the wake of the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church, members of other faiths began reconsidering how they handle allegations against clergy, teachers and youth leaders. </p><p>For Orthodox Jews, whose communal life is shaped by religious courts and a desire to avoid bad publicity, abuse often went unreported -- a situation that has slowly started to change -- much to Rabbi Yosef Blau's relief.</p> </section>
Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:12:39 +0000Dennis Coday12584 at https://www.ncronline.org